


Charlie and the Self-Aware Automaton Factory

by FleetSparrow



Series: Drawlloween 2018 [25]
Category: Batman (Comics), Five Nights at Freddy's
Genre: Gen, fnaf au, y'all didn't know I had this AU did you
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 13:55:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16409726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FleetSparrow/pseuds/FleetSparrow
Summary: Barbara Gordon receives a letter from an old eccentric millionaire about a house he's bought.  The letter comes to her after his death.  Suspecting foul play, Barbara investigates.  But she's not the only thing alive in the old mansion, and she'll have to fight for her life to solve the mystery.  If it can be solved.





	Charlie and the Self-Aware Automaton Factory

_My dearest Ms. Gordon,_

_I am sure by now that news has reached you of my death. I am sincerely sorry that we were not able to meet one last time; it is one of my deepest regrets. If you would allow an old man to impose upon you, I would like to ask for one last favor._

_Five years ago, I purchased the house once owned by Charles Scott, the great inventor. Along with his estate, I also acquired several of his automatons. When I first moved in, they were deactivated. As you know, I have no children of my own, but it had always been a lifelong dream of mine to open a safe haven for the forgotten, the abandoned, and the unloved. With this in mind, I set about restoring the automata to be friendly guides and caretakers of children._

_Shortly after I began my work, strange things began to happen in the house. Late at night, I would hear movement throughout the lower floors and queer mechanical noises echoing along the walls. I realize how melodramatic this must sound to such a practical mind as yourself, but it is the God's honest truth. The sounds continued every night, from midnight until dawn._

_One night, I decided that enough was enough and went searching for the source of these disturbances. As I made my way down stairs, I soon discovered that it was no human's doing, but that of the mechanical creations of Scott. His automata had come to life! They became extremely aggressive at the sight of me, hunting me down through the lower part of the house. The first night, I managed to flee to the safety of the upstairs, but in the next nights I was horrified to discover that they had learned to climb staircases on their own. It was a living nightmare._

_I endeavored to lock them away until I could properly assess what was wrong with them, but they began crawling through the servant's halls and ventilation ducts. I was eventually forced to dismantle them, and since that time, had not been disturbed by their nightly prowls._

_I began searching for a reason behind this behavior, some clue in the notes of old Scott. In the beginning, his notes were precise and coherent, the clear brilliance of a genius of creation. However, I soon discovered an entire missing year, and when his writings returned, they were full of scattered, mad ramblings. Somewhere between the winter of 1886 and the spring of 1888, something so horrible occurred to disturb him past the point of sanity. I put aside his later notes, saddened but ultimately unable to understand whatever tragedy had so unhinged him, and focused on his first notes of the building of his automata._

_Working day and night, I pored over his notes and eventually began restoring his creations. This time, there were no more nightly excursions and soon my dream of opening my home to the children seemed nearly realized._

_The first three months of my sanctuary were heavenly. The automata behaved exactly as they were meant to, entertaining the children and delighting them with their abilities. I thought perhaps my earlier horrors were simply trials from God to make me prove myself worthy of the happiness I was now experiencing. It was certainly worth it._

_Four or so months in, the automata began breaking down. Strange excretions started oozing from their eyes and open mouths. They began to reek of decay, like rotting corpses. The children became terrified, several claiming to hear shrieks intermixed with their words and see glowing handprints on their faces. I locked the creations up once more and tried to keep my haven open without them. But that night, the automata began roaming the house again._

_This time, they seemed more violent than ever. It was as if the presence of children had disturbed something in them that sent them on what I feared world become a murderous rampage. There seemed to be no safe place in the house. One night, they even barged into my bedchamber, and it was by the sheer grace of God that I escaped with my life. There is only one room that they will not enter, and that is Scott's workshop, but whether that is out of fear or respect for their creator, I do not know. I installed cameras throughout the house, and every night before midnight, I would retreat to the safety of the workshop and watch the automata come to life on their own._

_Recently, they have become braver and have begun venturing near the workshop. I do not know if one day they will enter it, but fear that is an inevitability. On that day, I will surely die, for there is only one way into the workshop that I have found._

_Since you have received this letter, it means that I have died. I can only hope that it was of old age, but I suspect that it was not. If there was any sign of foul play in my death, I urge you to stay away from the house. It must be burned to the ground and the earth upon which it rested salted so that no one else shall suffer my fate. If it seems that I have died of normal causes, I urge you to solve this mystery and help my spirit rest in peace, for I know this shall haunt me beyond the grave._

_But most of all, I beg you to stay away from the house after midnight. There is some evil there Man was not meant to know, and I will not allow another life to be destroyed by it._

_The automata are still functional. It seems now that no matter what I do, they return. One is in a state of almost total disrepair, and yet it roams about with the rest with complete ease._

_Please find the missing notes and help break whatever curse has been placed upon that house. Some Hellish business is afoot there and I do not believe it will be solved by anyone other than you._

_You have always been a true compatriot of mine and I pray that God will keep you safe._

_Your friend,_   
_Edward “Ned” Cawthon_


End file.
